User Guide

Using Shapes366
photographic elements when
imported in Corel Painter and
displayed with anti-aliasing.
Anti-aliased shapes are typically
slower to draw to the screen in Corel
Painter than aliased objects are in
drawing programs. So, you may want
to do most of your object creation in
your drawing program. You can then
import the vector artwork into Corel
Painter, tweak it with the drawing
tools, and add some Natural-Media
effects.
Shapes in Corel Painter can be
interleaved with pixel-based layers, so
you can layer both styles of artwork in
a single composition. You can convert
vector objects and groups into pixel-
based layers and use any of the effects
or painting tools on these floating
objects to create Natural-Media
artwork.
You can also use shapes to generate
selections. You can convert shapes to
selections and vice versa. The tools for
adjusting shapes allow precise control
over the outline path, so you may
want to use shapes to create some of
your selection paths. For more
information about selections, refer to
“Working with Selections” on
page 203.
Shapes as Layers
In Corel Painter, shapes are
implemented as layers. When you
create a shape, a new layer is added to
your document.
The shapes you create are listed on the
Layers palette. Many of the options
and controls for working with pixel-
based layers apply equally to shapes.
For example, you can apply effects to
shapes or give them a composite
method to control how the shape
interacts with the underlying image.
Shapes follow the same layering rules
as pixel-based layers, and you can
manipulate them in many of the same
ways.
Shapes differ from pixel-based layers
by the type of data they contain.
Shapes are vector objects; pixel-based
layers are constructed of pixels.
If you want to work with pixel
information in a shape, you can
convert the shape to a pixel-based
layer. In many cases, Corel Painter
will do this for you automatically. For
example, if you paint on a shape,
Corel Painter asks if you want to
commit the shape to an image layer.
You can also deliberately convert a
shape or group of shapes to a pixel-
based layer.
For more information about layers,
refer to “Layer Basics” on page 230.
For information about changing layer
hierarchy and working with groups,
refer to “Managing Layers” on
page 235.
For information about moving and
aligning layers, refer to “Moving
Layers” on page 244.
For information about layer composite
methods, refer to “Blending Layers
Using Composite Methods” on
page 248.
To convert a shape to a pixel-
based layer:
1 Choose the Shape Selection tool
from the toolbox .
2 Click the shape to select it.